The Ural City Court found an expert from the Institute of Forensic Examinations for the West Kazakhstan Region (WKR) M. Zhonysov guilty of deliberately giving a false expert conclusion. The court sentenced him to a restriction of liberty for a term of 3 years.
WHAT THE COURT ESTABLISHED
According to the WKR Prosecutor's Office, the expert in his initial conclusion stated there were no bodily injuries and that it was impossible to determine the cause of death due to putrefactive changes to the body.
Later, following an exhumation, a commission forensic medical examination was carried out by specialists from Astana. According to its results, numerous ante-mortem bodily injuries were identified on the deceased, including fractures of the ribs and the hyoid bone.
WHY THE EXPERTISE BECAME THE BASIS FOR THE CASE
The court concluded that the initial conclusion did not correspond to the factual data and misled the pre-trial investigation authorities.
Despite the non-admission of guilt, the state prosecutor presented evidence which the court deemed sufficient to deliver a guilty verdict.
UNDER WHICH ARTICLE THE EXPERT WAS CONVICTED
M. Zhonysov was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 420 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Knowingly false expert conclusion").
The court imposed a penalty of restriction of liberty for a term of 3 years 2 months and 12 days.
At the time of publication, the verdict had not yet entered into legal force.